The Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing Awards $950,000 in Grants to Six Organizations Working to Advance Public Policies that Support Impact Transparency and Accountability to Stakeholders

NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing (TPF), a donor collaborative committed to creating and supporting public goods that are critical to the continued growth and fidelity of the impact investing market, today announced that it will award approximately $950,000 in grants to six organizations working to increase impact transparency and accountability via public policy projects and initiatives. Since launching in December 2019, the TPF has made more than $6.5 million in grants to a diverse group of organizations.

"We know that to increase the flow of capital for impact, particularly to communities not well served by the current financial system, broad structural changes are needed," said Fran Seegull, Executive Director of the TPF and President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. "Public policies play a crucial role in this transformation by helping bring transparency to the impacts of business and investment decisions and ensuring that decision-makers are accountable to key stakeholders."

"Each grant recipient brings a different perspective to the issue of impact transparency and stakeholder accountability," said Jessie Duncan, Program Officer at the TPF. "By supporting a broad range of organizations with different policy ideas and proposals, we hope to bring more capital to the issues and communities that need it most."

To guide the grantmaking process, the TPF team specifically sought organizations working on policy issues with the potential to advance impact investing market infrastructure on one of two levels:

• Financial System Level: Policy interventions at the financial systems level are those that affect the broad structures and flows of capital in the public and private capital markets. Such policy interventions have the potential to not only strengthen and grow the impact investing field with integrity, but also have an opportunity to serve as a gateway to reshaping mainstream markets. A commitment to impact transparency and accountability to stakeholders would contribute to reshaping the public and private capital markets so that they would work better for all.
• Community Level: Policy interventions at the community level refer to local economy investments in historically underserved communities in things like small businesses, entrepreneurial ecosystems, safe and affordable housing, and local sustainable infrastructure that contribute to equitable and thriving communities. A commitment to impact transparency and accountability to stakeholders would help ensure that the impact investing movement contributes to inclusive economic opportunities for small business owners, workers, residents, and other community stakeholders.

Each grant recipient was asked to show how their proposed work aligns with either the Financial System track or the Community track, as well as how their proposed policy solutions have the potential to contribute to racial and economic equity and justice. The full list of grant recipients includes:

• B Lab ? B Lab is a nonprofit organization and membership network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. With funding from the TPF, B Lab U.S. and Canada will develop trainings and educational resources needed to prepare B Corp business leaders to engage in direct policy advocacy.
• Opportunity Alabama ? Opportunity Alabama (OPAL) is a nonprofit dedicated to connecting investors with investable assets in Alabama's Opportunity Zones. With funding from the TPF, OPAL will develop and disseminate a report for federal policymakers on how to align the incentives and requirements of community investment programs with local communities' assessments of their own needs.
• Pacific Community Ventures ? Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) is a nonprofit CDFI whose mission is to invest in addressing racial and gender wealth gaps, and build community wealth by investing in small businesses, help them create good jobs for working people, and make markets work for the common good. With funding from the TPF, PCV -- in partnership with the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs -- will develop and promote policy changes that recenter racial and economic justice within the CDFI industry.
• Prosperity Now ? Prosperity Now is a national nonprofit organization singularly focused on advancing racial and ethnic economic justice by driving economic opportunity for all and building equitable economic power. With funding from the TPF, Prosperity Now will organize grassroots advocacy efforts around a set of federal policy recommendations to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems and increase the flow of capital to entrepreneurs of color to help build an economy that works for everyone.
• Public Private Strategies Institute's (PPSI) Reimagine Main Street project ? Reimagine Main Street is a multi-stakeholder and cross-sector initiative focused on advancing and uplifting innovative solutions through dialogue and data-driven insights to ensure that Main Streets are at the center of the COVID-19 recovery. With funding from the TPF, PPSI will expand on Reimagine Main Street's mission by identifying gaps and barriers that prevent investors from developing a complete picture of fund flows into Black-owned businesses. A more complete picture will help unlock investment to fill the gaps.
• Urban Institute ? The Urban Institute is a research organization that studies economic and social policy. With funding from the TPF, the Urban Institute will develop and disseminate policy recommendations for expanding the definition of fiduciary duty for charitable endowments.

The TPF will continue to support the development of the impact investing market through additional grantmaking in 2022 across both Public Policy and Data, Metrics, and Measurement.

About the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing
The Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing (TPF) is a donor collaborative vehicle developed with the mission of creating and supporting public goods that are critical to the continued growth and fidelity of the impact investing market. The TPF was launched in December 2019 with an initial $14 million in philanthropic capital, which will be used to develop the infrastructure that is needed to mobilize more private capital for impact. The funding will build on existing field building efforts by prioritizing the areas that are chronically underfunded, are best suited for collective action and require additional support beyond that provided by individual grantmakers. Learn more at www.tpfii.org.

About the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance (Alliance) is dedicated to building the impact investing ecosystem by bridging market gaps and addressing shared challenges. The Alliance's long-term vision is to place measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial return and risk at the center of every investment decision. Learn more at www.impinvalliance.org.

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SOURCE Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing